Surface mount

ABSTRACT

The invention is a mount comprised of a base for receiving a hollow object that is to be secured with the mount to another surface. The interior area includes a movable anchor than can be advanced toward the wall that defines a hollow object receiving area so that the hollow object is pinched or compressed between the anchor and its respective wall.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of the prior U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 29/297,983 which was filed on Nov. 26, 2007 and is incorporatedherein by reference as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a device for surface mounting ahollow object on a surface. This invention relates more particularly tomounting a hollow object on a flat surface. This invention relates mostparticularly to mounting a fence post on a solid surface.

BACKGROUND

There have been a number of attempts to provide surface mounts forsecuring hollow objects to the surface. While a number of these havebeen found useful, there are still problems with the endurance of theconnection between the mount and the hollow object. It has been foundthat one cause of failure between the mount and the object has been thefailure to restrain movement of the object within the mount.

SUMMARY

The invention is a mount comprised of a base for receiving a hollowobject that is to be secured. The interior area includes a movableanchor than can be advanced toward a wall that defines the hollow objectreceiving area so that the hollow object is pinched or compressedbetween the anchor and its respective wall. In one particularapplication, the hollow object is a fence post, which is most commonlyrectangular or square. However, the post may be round or of anothershape. The anchor members are shaped to complement the interior shape ofthe hollow object that is to be secured. The hollow object is insertedinto the base in the space between the anchors and the walls of thebase. A fastener is passed through the wall and the hollow object andinto the anchor. As the fastener is tightened, the anchor moves towardthe object and compress it between the wall and the anchor. This resultsin the hollow object being retained by both the fastener which passesthrough it and the pinching or compressing force against the wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a general illustration of a fence assembly;

FIG. 2 illustrates a surface mount with a square hollow object insertedin the interior of the surface mount;

FIG. 3 is an exploded, partial section of the surface mount with theanchors exploded out to reveal the slots in the base of the surfacemount;

FIG. 4 illustrates the anchors positioned in the interior portion of thesurface mount to define a space between them and the walls for receiptof the hollow object;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view that illustrates three anchors in interiorpositions that are spaced from the base walls, like FIG. 4, and oneanchor that is in the insertion position adjacent to a wall and prior tobeing moved to the interior position;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view that illustrates the arrangement of theslots within which the anchors are moved from the insertion positioninto the interior position;

FIG. 7 is a section through the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 that shows one anchorin the insert position and one in the interior position;

FIGS. 8 through 11 illustrate the assembly steps that are associatedwith a square hollow object or fence post in the mount of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a left perspective view of a preferred anchor geometry;

FIG. 13 is a rear perspective view of the anchor of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a front plan view of the anchor of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a side elevation of the anchor of FIG. 12 with the other sidebeing the mirror image thereof;

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of the anchor of FIG. 12;

FIG. 17 is a rear plan view of the anchor of FIG. 12;

FIG. 18 is a bottom plan view of the anchor of FIG. 12;

FIG. 19 is a bottom left perspective of the anchor of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 20 is a bottom rear perspective of the anchor of FIG. 12;

FIG. 21 is a front plan view of an alternative anchor geometry;

FIG. 22 is a side elevation of the anchor of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a top plan view that illustrates a base that is can be usedwith the anchor illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring now to the drawing figures, the invention will be described indetail. FIG. 1 is a generalized view of a fence 10 that generallyillustrates the position of the surface mounts 20 in a preferredapplication. However, the specific type of fence is not part of thepresent invention. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the surface mount 20is fastened to a surface 22, such as concrete, with a plurality offasteners, which may be bolts, rivets, rods or other means of attachmentsuitable for the application. The surface mount has a base 24 and walls30 that define an interior cavity 34. The floor 36 of the interiorcavity 34 has a plurality of slots 40 that are configured to receiveanchors 100.

The preferred geometry of the anchors 100 is fully illustrated in FIGS.12 through 20. Generally, the anchors 100 have a face 102 with afastener aperture 104, a lower vertical guide rail 106 that carries adepend retainer 108. Above the face 102, there is a slanted surface 110which terminates in flat surfaces 112 and the ramp 114. The geometry ofthe anchor 100 is designed to keep the anchor balanced and to focus theweight of the anchor 100 over the centerline of the anchor 100 with alow center of gravity. This resistance to tilting of the anchor 100improves its movement through the slots 40 when it is being drawn in tocompress the inserted object 200 between the anchor 100 and the wall 30.

With reference to FIG. 4, there is shown an illustration of how thehollow object or member 200 fits between the anchors 100 and the walls30. The method for creating that space is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.Each of the slots 40 illustrated in this embodiment has a “T” likeconfiguration comprised of generally perpendicular slots 50 and 52. Theslots 50 and 52 are configured to receive the vertical guide rail 106and dependent retainer 108 respectively. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, theanchor 100 is positioned with the retainer 108 over the slot 52 and theguide rail 106 is over the slot 50. Once the anchor is inserted, it ismoved inwardly so that the space 34 is available to receive the desiredobject when all of the anchors are positioned as illustrated in FIG. 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 10, a fastener, which may be a bolt, ascrew, a rivet or another connecting means, such as screw 42, is passedthrough a preferably pre-formed aperture 32 in wall 30 and into theaperture 104 in anchor 100. As the fastener is tightened in aperture104, the anchor 100 is drawn toward the wall 30 until the insertedobject 200 is pinched or compressed between the anchor 100 and the wall30. The anchor 100 remains in abutment against the floor 36 because theinserted object occupies space over the slot 52 and prevents verticalmovement of the retainer 108. It will be appreciated that the dimensionsof slot 52 will need to take into account the retainer 108 and theavailable space.

As noted previously, the preferred geometry of the anchors 100 isillustrated in FIGS. 12 through 20. This preferred anchor geometry keepsthe anchor balanced and provides a low center of gravity that resisttilting of the anchor 100 when it is being drawn toward the wall 30.With reference again to FIG. 12, the anchors 100 have a face 102 thatincludes a fastener aperture 104, a lower vertical guide rail 106 and aretainer 108. Above the face 102, there is a slanted surface 110 whichterminates in flat surfaces 112 and the vertically inclined ramp 114. Onthe back or side opposite the face 102, the anchor has vertical faces120 and 122 that generally lie in the same plane and essentiallydetermine the depth of the anchor 100. On either side of the verticalfaces 120 and 122 are the respective angled surfaces 124 and 126, and128 and 130. The angled surfaces 124 and 126 are tapered toward face 102until they meet the respective side wall 132 or 134. Side walls 132 and134 determine the width of anchor 100. The angled surfaces 128 and 130are tapered toward face 102 until they meet the respective side wall 138or 136. The side walls are generally in the same vertical plane. As canbe seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the anchors are preferably dimensioned sothat the back surfaces are complementary and fit together when they aremoved toward the center of the surface mount 20.

With reference to FIGS. 21 through 23, there is shown an alternativeembodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the anchor 300 does notinclude a retainer 108 as described previously. In keeping with theconfiguration of anchor 300, there is continuous single slot 350 in thefloor 36, because the continuous guide rail 306 does not require thecrossing slot. The guide rail 306 includes an aperture 316 that ispositioned below the floor 36 and receives a retainer 308. Onceinserted, retainer 308 maintains the anchor 300 in the slot 350. Thisanchor may be used in application where the available tolerances makethe anchor 100 more difficult to use. Here, the guide rail 306 passesthrough the slot 350 and the retainer 308 is inserted without the needfor the crossing slot of the prior embodiment. As a result, there is noconcern about the dimension of the inserted object. It will beappreciated that the anchor 300 may be used with the base 20 and thatthe location of the aperture 316 may be varied by application.

1. A surface mount comprising: a base that defines an interior cavitywith walls, a floor and at least one slot that extends through the floorfrom a position adjacent a respective wall to a predetermined distancefrom the respective wall; at least one anchor which includes a guiderail that fits within the at least one slot and presents a fastener facethat is positioned opposite a respective wall by a first distance todefine an object receiving space; and at least one fastener that passesthrough the respective wall and connects to the anchor to draw itthrough the slot and toward the wall so that the object receiving spacebetween the wall and the anchor is reduced.
 2. The mount of claim 1wherein there are at least three slots and anchors.
 3. The mount ofclaim 1 wherein there are at least four slots and anchors.
 4. The mountof claim 1 wherein the interior cavity is rectangular.
 5. The mount ofclaim 1 wherein the interior cavity is square.
 6. The mount of claim 1wherein the interior cavity is configured to complement an object havinga predefined shape.
 7. A surface mount comprising: a base with exteriorwalls surrounding an interior floor with a center point and a pluralityof slots that extends between a respective wall and the center point; aplurality of anchors, each of which fits within a respective slot andpresents a fastener receiving surface that is opposite to and spacedfrom a respective wall; and a plurality of fasteners, each of whichpasses through a respective wall and draws the associated anchor towardthe respective wall and decreases the space between the anchor and thewall.
 8. The mount of claim 7 wherein there are at least three slots andanchors.
 9. The mount of claim 7 wherein there are at least four slotsand anchors.
 10. The mount of claim 7 wherein the interior cavity isrectangular.
 11. The mount of claim 7 wherein the interior cavity issquare.
 12. The mount of claim 7 wherein the interior cavity isconfigured to complement an object having a predefined shape.
 13. Asurface mount for mounting a hollow object with a predefined shape andexterior dimension, the mount comprising: a base with a generallyperpendicular structure that defines an object receiving cavity with aninterior dimension greater than a predefined exterior dimension for thehollow object, and a floor with at least one slot that is angled withrespect to the perpendicular structure and terminates at a predetermineddistance from the perpendicular structure; and, at least one anchor thatincludes a guide rail movable within the at least one slot and presentsa face surface that is positioned opposite the perpendicular structure.14. The mount of claim 13 wherein there are at least three slots andanchors.
 15. The mount of claim 13 wherein there are at least four slotsand anchors.
 16. The mount of claim 13 wherein the object receivingcavity is rectangular.
 17. The mount of claim 13 wherein the objectreceiving cavity is square.
 18. The mount of claim 13 wherein the slothas a “T” shape.
 19. The mount of claim 13 wherein there are at leastthree slots and each slot has a “T” shape.
 20. The mount of claim 19wherein the object receiving cavity is square.
 21. The mount of claim 13wherein the anchor face surface is shaped to complement the predefinedshape of the hollow object.